Meet the Summer Editing Interns!

Meet the Summer Editing Interns!

Mackenzie Bowers

This may be a boring answer, but if I’m being honest I think I have to say in bed. There’s just something to that cozy feeling you get when you’re snuggled under the blankets at night with a book.

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead?

I definitely open it, but I knock first. If I’ve learned anything reading about supernatural creatures, it’s that they appreciate manners. Following that logic, the door would have to lead to some mythical realm that I cannot escape from if I eat the food. Maybe I shouldn’t have opened it after all.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.

I am an actual coffee goblin. Meaning that I grow talons and sharp teeth if I don’t have at least two cups of coffee a day. When I make it at home I take it with milk and two sugars, but my go-to coffee order when I go get coffee is an iced caramel macchiato.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?

Defenestrate. It literally means to throw someone or something out of a window. Why do we need a word that means throwing someone out of a window? I think that’s all that needs to be said on why I love it so much. My favorite word in another language isn’t really a word. It’s a German phrase and it makes absolutely no sense, but I love it simply because my best friend inexplicably never stops saying it. It’s, “Schade schade, marmelade,” meaning “Shame shame, jelly.” I don’t get it, either.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?

For the album I want to say something cool like Frank Ocean’s Blonde or A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead. But if I’m being completely honest here it’s probably Divide by Ed Sheeran. Those songs are just so fun to sing along to. Don’t judge me.

The book is a bit easier. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, simply because I’ve already read it a million times and still get something new out of it every time I go back to it.

Celia Daniels

Toledo, OH

Where is your favorite place to read?

My favorite place to read is either on my parents’ front porch or curled into the corner of any available couch.

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead?

I’d glare suspiciously at the door for a moment or two before pressing inward and revealing a dragon’s hoard, sans dragon, into which I could do my best Scrooge McDuck.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.

I drink an excessive amount of tea instead of coffee, so much so that whenever I walk into my kitchen, I instinctively start making myself a cup. Recently, whenever I make myself a chai latte, I top it off with apple pie spice.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?

My favorite English word is “punk.” Its modern meaning is pretty versatile; when I say “punk,” I could be referring to a genre of music, an aesthetic, a socio-political movement, or to any of a number of science fiction subgenres. “Punk” was first used in the early 16th century, though, and it has fascinating linguistic origins!

I don’t have a favorite word in another language, unfortunately, though I did graduate from my undergrad with a minor in Spanish.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?

Album: David Bowie’s Best of Bowie, because no one cheers me up like David Bowie does. Book: It Begins in a Garden, by Sarah N.B., because it’s a gorgeous mash up of irreverent, inspiring, modern, and ancient, and reading it always leaves me melancholic, but in a good way. Alternatively (and maybe predictably), Anne Johnson Knutson’s Survival Cookbook.

For the book, I’d have to choose The Toughest Indian in the World. I read the title story for a class, but I read it before it was listed on the syllabus because I thought it would fit in with an idea for the final paper I had. I ended up reading the story eight times that semester and wrote a paper incorporating that and Louise Erdrich’s “Satan: Hijacker of a Planet.” I then read the whole collection cover to cover and inside out the next semester. I haven’t read it in a while, but it’s still a book I hold very dear.

Ariel Fagiola

Denver, CO

Where is your favorite place to read?

My favorite place to read is at home, snuggled into the comfy corner of the couch, resting my book on a pillow, preferably while it’s raining with my dog laying close by.

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead?

Yes, I so open it. But only after what would be a few moments of serious contemplation. My first hope is that it would lead into a delightfully decorated hobbit house, which I magically move in to and call my own. Or like, a portal that could take me wherever I wanted.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.

I take my coffee black or with a little cream. Depending on the coffee, and my mood.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?

Immeasurable, because I love the way it looks written out and how it sounds, and because it’s meaning is grand in both happiness or displeasure.

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?

At the moment I would choose the album Settle by Disclosure and The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The album because I love it a lot. I’d need something I know makes me feel mostly happy, sometimes dance-y, sometimes calm, and with an electric feel to keep my spirits relatively high to balance out the sadness of being alone on an island. And the book because, well, it has staying power for me and strong nostalgic value. It was one of the first books I reread and reread, it’s full of adventure and weirdness, plus it’s super long to keep me occupied. But could I also sneak Mrs. Dalloway with me, too?

Carolyn Janecek

Salt Lake City, UT

Where is your favorite place to read?

My favorite place to read is in the hammock in my backyard.

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead?

I’m running my hand along a wall of mossy rocks and suddenly, I brush against lacquered wood. Fitted perfectly into the hillside is an oval door with an iron knocker. I know that I shouldn’t go inside. But this door is so pristine––civilized, even. I knock. The lock clicks and the door drifts open on its own.

I step inside a small cave lit by firelight. There’s a neatly braided rug on the floor made of fresh daisies that don’t seem to wilt even as I step on them. Standing by the fire is an enormous old man who’s leaning on a flowering tree branch. His robes are tattered and his white beard drags along the floor.

I immediately recognize him from childhood stories: Krkonoš, the guardian of these mountains. I should be fine; I haven’t littered or set any fires in the woods recently. Except when Krkonoš looks at me, I don’t feel as safe as I should.

He reaches into his robe and, to my surprise, pulls out a tablet. He swipes his weathered fingers along the screen and then turns it toward me. It’s a screenshot of my printing budget from last semester.

“You printed over three-hundred pages of paper?” he asks me, shaking his head.

“I-I was writing my thesis.” I stammer, “And––and it’s Writing Center policy to print out the assignments. I can exp––” I cannot explain because he lifts up his staff and when it cracks against the floor, I become another daisy in his living room rug.

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.

I’m really sensitive to caffeine, so I drink green and white tea all day long. Some of my favorite teas are jasmine, white rose, and peach oolong. I’ll drink a yerba mate when I need something stronger during finals, but that’s about as wild as I get.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?

My favorite word is “hwælweg,” an Anglo-Saxon kenning meaning “sea” that literally translates to “whale road” or “whale way.” Kennings are Anglo-Saxon/Old Norse compound words that express nouns more poetically. I’ve loved them since I took “The History and Structure of the English Language.”

You’re on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?

The rational part of me is saying that I should choose a Broadway musical––which has a plot––so it’d almost be like having two books with me on a desert island. But, I also love the Mad Max: Fury Road soundtrack dearly. If Furiosa can motivate me to write, she could also motivate me to survive on a desert island.

As for a book, I’d choose Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, because I love coming of age stories and this one warms my heart every time.

Eileen Silverthorn

Denver, CO

Where is your favorite place to read?

I have this old chair covered in a horrific floral print sitting right by my bedroom window and—despite its appearances—it’s my favorite place to curl up with a book. The branches from the tree outside cast thin shadows across the pane, but it lets in the perfect amount of sunlight to read by. I think it’s the coziest place in my whole house.

You’re walking up the side of a mountain along a winding, wooded path. You look to your left and discover, by chance, a door in the side of the mountain. Do you open it, and if so, where does it lead?

Heck yes, I would open it! Where it would lead is a trickier question. I hope it would lead to a land of adventure. That sounds vague, but stick with me for a moment: in season 10 of Supernatural (don’t judge me) they find a key that can open any door, and it leads them to the Land of Oz. I would want this mysterious mountain door to lead to a world like that; not necessarily Oz, but wherever you dream of going. A place that has only been imagined in some of your favorite books and movies (Hogwarts, The Shire, Camp Half-Blood, you name it) is on the other side of this door whenever you decide to visit it. Like a sort of Bridge to Terabithia, if you will!

How do you take your coffee? If you don’t drink coffee, describe your favorite beverage ritual.

When I drink coffee, I typically take it with enough sugar to rot your teeth. Because I can’t afford a mouth full of cavities, I usually drink sweet chai tea to get my sugar with a bit of caffeine.

What is your favorite English word and why? Do you have a favorite word in another language?

My favorite English word is “hooligans.” First off, it’s just fun to say. It’s a silly word to describe some silly individuals. In addition to that, it can be positive or negative. You can say, “Can you believe those hooligans? What do they think they’re up to?” Or you could say “Let’s go be hooligans, I feel like a night of shenanigans!” Shenanigans is also a fun word. My favorite word in another language is “umbra.” It’s Latin and it means “shade” or “shadow.” I have a tattoo that reads “pulvis et umbra sumus” (gold star if you know what book series that is from) and it means “we are but dust and shadow.” Not only am I fan of the intensity and mystery of that quote, but I also love the sound of it, how it feels in my mouth; in a way, “umbra” sounds like what it means.

You are on a deserted island. You have one album and one book. What are they and why?

For album, it would have to be something by Fall Out Boy. Probably either Save Rock and Roll or From Under the Cork Tree? If I’m stranded on a desert island I need some angst, nostalgia, and some pump-up music, and for me, their music has all of that! For book, I want to say something practical like Spy Secrets That Can Save Your Life, but I’m going to be impractical here: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. It’s not going to teach me how to sew together a fishing net out of palm fronds, but it is a book I go back to constantly, captured by its detailed prose and examinations of youth, beauty, wickedness, and excess. One of my favorite quotes is from The Picture of Dorian Gray as well: “Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.”

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